Neil Powell says Sharks will cope without their Springbok stars

Sharks director of rugby Neil Powell has revealed they will be without their Springbok stars for several weeks, but insists they still have enough depth to compete.

The national team stars are currently on a compulsory break from franchise rugby and will soon go into the national camp.

The Sharks, who host the Stormers in a United Rugby Championship (URC) match at Kings Park Stadium in Durban on Saturday (2pm), are one of the sides with several Springboks in their set-up, boasting at least nine national team players.

“The Boks will be out for seven weeks, which started the week after the Harlequins game,” Powell said.

“They will be on compulsory rest for a few weeks and the last three weeks of the seven they will go into camp with the Springboks' coaching staff and management.

“We still had Ox (Nche) and Thomas (Du Toit) available for the Edinburgh game (last week) but after that they are off for six weeks,” he said.

“They will be back before the Scarlets game at the end of March and we are looking forward to getting them back.”

While the Sharks have been a strong side with their international players, Powell believes it's not a crisis without them.

The mentor sees this as an opportunity for other players to stake their claim in the starting team.

 “I think we still have enough quality in the squad to be successful in the games that we won’t have the Boks for,” he said.

‘Obviously, the Stormers game and we will have the Lions away, we will have Ulster for that game that got postponed and then Stormers away.

“I do believe we still have a squad with Grant Williams at nine, I can go position for position and name the names that are of quality.

“I think that's exactly how we contracted the squad and making sure that we have enough cover in all the positions that we have Boks in.”

On top of not being able to select their Boks, the Sharks will also miss injured scrumhalf Grant Williams for the clash.

Cameron Wright has been selected to start at nine while youngster Bradley Davids is set to get a run from the bench.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for those guys as well, not just to show what they are capable of but if there’s any youngster like Bradley Davids to develop.”

Teams

Sharks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Marnus Potgieter, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Thaakir Abrahams, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Cameron Wright, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi (captain), 7 Henco Venter, 6 James Venter, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Hyron Andrews, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.

Substitutes: 16 Dan Jooste, 17 Dian Bleuler, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Reniel Hugo, 20 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 21 Bradley Davids, 22 Lionel Cronje, 23 Yaw Penxe.

Stormers: 15 Clayton Blommetjies, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Ruhan Nel, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Seabelo Senatla, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Junior Pokomela, 6 Deon Fourie (captain), 5 Gary Porter, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Neethling Fouche, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Brok Harris.

Substitutes: 16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Keke Morabe, 22 Paul de Wet, 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.